"I heard you've been hanging out with the very sexy Justin Blackwood," Hannah said. "What have I missed the last two days?"
She smiled. "Not much. I'm just being a good host."
"And what is he being?" she asked, with a mischievous smile.
"He's being a good guest."
"Hey, I want the juicy stuff, not the stuff you'd tell your parents," Hannah complained.
She hesitated. "We might have kissed."
"Really? Okay. Now we're getting to the good part. It was good, wasn't it?"
"Oh, yeah, the man can kiss."
"What else can he do?"
"I'm not going to find out."
Hannah groaned. "Why not? He's one of the hottest guys I've seen in a long time. Why wouldn't you find out? It sounds like you're both interested. Is he married or something?"
"No, he's single. But he's just passing through."
"Good. Then if he's bad in bed, you won't have to see him again."
"Unfortunately, I don't think that will be my problem."
"You're afraid you're going to fall in love with him."
She was actually afraid that was already happening, but she didn't want to say that. "I think it's better that Justin and I keep a professional relationship. I don't want to complicate things, and his grandparents are two of my best repeating guests. They've also sent several friends my way. I don't want to ruin that relationship by messing around with their grandson."
Hannah grinned. "If anyone understands love, it's probably Marie and Ben. Look how long they've been married."
"They are great role models for love," she admitted. "And Justin is very sweet to them. He took his grandmother antique shopping today. She was over the moon about it."
"It says something about him if he's willing to shop with his grandmother."
"Yeah, it does," she said. "So, are you dating anyone?"
"No. I just haven't connected with anyone in a while. I've had a couple of dates, but they've just been boring. And I feel like I keep saying that." Hannah frowned. "Maybe I'm the one who's boring. Do you think it could be me?"
She laughed. "You are not boring, Hannah. You just haven't met the right person."
"Sometimes I think I need to move to a bigger city."
"Really? I'd hate to see you leave."
"I love living here, but maybe it's too small for me."
"It's growing every day and the new medical center is nice."
Hannah smiled. "Don't worry. I'm just having an off day. I'll probably never go anywhere, except to the next booth. I want to try a different wine." She finished off what was left in her glass as they headed next door.
For the next hour, they looked at art, drank wine, and ate mini quiches, veggie sticks and too many cheese squares to count. It was nice to be with her sister and her friends. Lizzie felt more relaxed than she had in a long time. But that ease evaporated when she saw Justin. He was standing next to his grandmother, who was trying on an embroidered sun hat. He smiled at his grandmother with great affection, and it touched Lizzie's heart.
Justin said he didn't do love, but she could see love in his gaze now. He had a relationship with his grandparents, but he didn't seem to want any other kind of relationship, and she couldn't help but wonder why. He didn't want to talk about his parents, and Marie had implied that there were problems between Justin and his parents, but she'd never said what the problem was. It felt like it was something deep, something dark, that affected the way he looked at love. Or maybe she was making too much of their estrangement.
Justin could just be a man who didn't want to commit to a woman. It wasn't like she hadn't met that kind of man before. He didn't have to have a secret, although she still thought that he did. She wondered if they got closer if he would tell her.
But getting closer was a bad idea, she reminded herself.
On the other hand…
Justin suddenly turned his head and caught her eye. A smile slowly curved his lips, and her heart flipped over in her chest.
She gave him a brief smile, then turned away, pretending to join the conversation between her sister and Keira, but she had no idea what they were talking about. Her entire body was humming with excitement and a feeling of recklessness. She couldn't look back at Justin. She couldn't let him see what he was doing to her.
"Are you all right, Lizzie?" her sister asked, giving her an odd look.
"Yes," she said. "But I have to get back to the inn. I just remembered something I need to take care of."
"Now?" Chelsea quizzed, a speculative look in her gaze.
"I thought we were getting dinner after this," Keira put in.
"Sorry. You guys have fun. I'll catch up to you tomorrow." She tossed her empty plastic glass into the recycle bin and left before they could ask her any more questions.
But it wasn't really their questions she was running away from; it was Justin.
Chapter Thirteen
Justin got back to the inn around nine after having dinner with his grandparents. When they headed upstairs to their room, he moved toward Lizzie's office. There was no one at the front desk, and her office was empty as well. He walked down the hall to her apartment and knocked on her door, but no one answered. As he returned to the lobby, he ran into Noah.
Noah gave him a smile and said, "Hello."
"How's it going?" he asked.
"It's all right," Noah said.
"Have you seen Lizzie by any chance?" Considering how often Noah walked the grounds, he was probably the best person to know where Lizzie might be.
"I have," Noah said. "She's up on the roof deck. It's one of her favorite places. I often see her up there late at night when she finds a little time for herself."
"Thanks. I'll check that out."
"Be careful," Noah said.
At Noah's unexpected words, he paused and glanced back at him. "Why would you say that?"
"Because I know how easy it is to fall in love in this place."
"I just want to talk to her." Actually, he wanted to do a lot more than talk.
"That's what I said to myself when I went to find Alice the night after we met. I knew she was married, but I told myself I just wanted to talk. It was a lie. I wanted Alice with every breath that I took."
He didn't know what to say to that. "I'm sorry she hasn't come back," he said quietly, seeing the pain in Noah's eyes. "Lizzie told me your story."
"You must think I'm a fool to keep coming back for Alice, waiting, hoping…"
"I don't think you're a fool," he said carefully. "Maybe a bit too optimistic."
Noah gave him a tired smile. "That's diplomatic."
"I just hope you don't miss what's right in front of you because you're looking for someone else."
Noah stared back at him. "Are you talking about Patty?"
"Or anyone."
"Have you ever had a dream, Justin?"
"Sure. I'm running my dream company right now."
"Did you ever let anyone talk you out of chasing that dream?" Noah asked.
He smiled. "No. And I see your point. It's none of my business."
"You were very kind to give Patty your room, so it is your business. I know my actions don't make sense to anyone else, but I'm doing what I have to do. Alice and I had a connection that was deep, personal, and so very honest. I'd been married before and thought I loved my wife beyond belief, but with Alice, it was different. It was all-consuming."
"Perhaps because it just lasted a short time," he couldn't help saying. "You didn't have time to fall out of love, to be bored, to get annoyed with each other."
"You think I'm romanticizing her. You might be right. Or you might be wrong."
"That about covers it," he said dryly. "Why didn't you ever go look for Alice? Why just wait?"
"Because she asked me to. Because she said she'd return when she could."
"How do you know if she's even…" His voice drifted away as he realized he was getting far too involved in Noah's life.
/> "Alive?" Noah finished. "I don't know if she's alive. I hope so. I hope she's happy, even if she's not with me."
"What about you? Are you happy? Can you be happy if you can't let go of her, of the possibility of her?"
"Patty asked me the same thing earlier. We've gotten very close, very fast. Patty lost her husband; she understands grief and longing and the hope for a second chance."
"Where is Patty now?"
"She's waiting for me in my room. I had to take a walk around the gardens one last time. We're going to play some cards now."
"That's good. Enjoy yourself."
"I will. You, too."
He started to turn, then paused. "Just for the record, you don't have to worry about Lizzie. I'm not going to hurt her."
"I hope not. She hides behind her smile, but she has a fragile heart."
"I think she's tougher than you might believe."
"Or maybe you just want her to be," Noah said with a gleam in his eyes. "Have a good night."
As the old man ambled away, Justin headed toward the stairs, Noah's words ringing through his head. Maybe he shouldn't go up to the roof. Maybe he should just go to his room and leave Lizzie alone.
But as he hit the fourth-floor landing and felt a breeze coming through the French doors leading onto the roof, he could not turn away.
Lizzie was sitting on a couch, her feet propped up on the coffee table next to a bottle of wine and an empty glass. She hadn't yet become aware of his presence, and for a moment, he just watched her. She was looking out at the view, her hair blowing gently in the breeze. It was another starry night. There seemed to be no lack of them in Whisper Lake.
As he stepped forward, she turned her head, giving him a startled look as he came around the couch.
"I found you," he said, sitting down next to her.
"I wasn't missing."
"Perhaps not, but I was missing you."
"I thought you'd be with your grandparents all evening."
"We spent a lot of time together today. We just had dinner at the Three Pigs."
"Did you get the pork chops?"
"I did. They were amazing."
"Your grandmother is going to make sure you eat well this week. Are they having a good time? Has your grandfather recovered from this morning's allergy attack?"
He gave her a dry smile. "He was apparently too sniffly to go antiquing, but he felt fine when it was time to drink wine and have dinner out."
She smiled. "Your grandfather is no fool. How was shopping? Did you buy anything?"
"My grandmother bought a jewelry box and an old desktop clock, both of which seemed old and boring to me, but she was quite excited about her finds. And they're small enough to fit in her luggage, which was apparently part of her criteria for purchasing."
"That's good. Did you carry her bags while being a good sport?" she asked with a teasing smile. "Or were you checking your phone for texts and emails the whole time?"
"I managed to keep up with some messages while also being an attentive grandson." He paused. "I saw you at the festival, but you disappeared before I could say hello."
"I had work to do."
"But no work now?"
"I just finished up. I often come up here in the late evening. It's usually empty. Most of the guests use the patio and the garden if they want to go outside. How did you find me?"
"Noah said he saw you out here."
"Right. I waved to him as he was making his nightly walk."
"I talked to him for a few minutes. He told me about Alice."
"Did you tell him to stop waiting for a woman who is never coming back?"
"I didn't say it exactly like that, but I did mention that he might miss what's right in front of him because he keeps looking to the future. He said Patty told him the same thing. But then he challenged me by asking if I'd ever let anyone talk me out of my dream, and I had to say no."
"He turned the tables on you."
"Yes, he did."
"I looked up your website earlier," she said, surprising him with her words. "It's very cool. I liked the original logo that you displayed in the origin story of your company."
"Robbie the Robot," he said with a laugh. "I actually drew that figure when I was eleven years old."
"And from that robot in your imagination, you built a huge global company. But I'm curious. It also said in the story that you named the company after someone who inspired the dream. You didn't say who."
"It's not important to the outside world who my inspiration was."
"Then why did you mention it at all?"
"Because he was important to me, but his identity is private."
"He doesn't want you to say who he is?"
He hesitated, knowing that the simple answer was yes. But with Lizzie's compelling gaze upon him, he felt it difficult to lie or even to dodge. "It's not that. He doesn't know anything about the company."
"How is that possible? From what I saw, you're pretty well known in the industry."
"He died long before I built the business."
Her smile dimmed. "Oh, I'm sorry, Justin. I didn't know. I was being pushy again. You should have just told me to shut up."
"You weren't being pushy, just curious."
"Well, I'm still sorry, and whoever he is, I think he'd be proud of what you built based on his inspiration."
"I'd like to think so." He wanted to tell her more. He felt like the words were on the tip of his tongue, but by force of habit, he held back. Opening up that locked door would only bring pain, and he wasn't looking for that tonight or any night. So, he changed the subject. "Who were you at the festival with? I thought I saw Chelsea and Hannah."
"Keira was there, too. It was just the girls tonight. It was fun to catch up."
"Catch up? It seems like you see each other all the time."
"This week, maybe, but we are all pretty busy these days." She lifted her gaze to the sky. "It's another starry night. But tomorrow, we'll have the eclipse, and the sky will go dark."
"I don't understand why that is so exciting to everyone."
"It's out of the ordinary, a special time. A lunar eclipse can only happen when the moon is directly opposite the sun. The earth's shadow blocks the sun's light, which otherwise reflects off the moon. And it has to happen during a full moon."
"I suppose that's kind of interesting."
"And there's also a legend, you know."
He grinned. "I'm not surprised. Want to tell me what it is?"
"There are several different stories, but there's one I particularly like. I have to warn you, it's romantic."
"Lay it on me," he said with a laugh.
"Once upon a time," she began with a sparkle in her gaze, "there was a love story between the sun and the moon, and they traveled the world together. And then the moon betrayed the sun and slept with the morning star. They were punished by the universe. From then on, the moon and the sun could never meet. The moon had to travel by night, the sun by day. But during an eclipse, for that brief time when the world goes dark, they can kiss, until they are forced to part ways. The eclipse is supposed to be a time for second chances. Which is why Noah is so excited that this particular week is also the week of an eclipse, which is when he met Alice."
"That's quite a tale, but not all that romantic since the moon cheated on the sun. Maybe they don't deserve a second chance."
"That is true, but you're kind of missing the romance of it all."
He grinned. "That's me. I do tend to miss the romance." He paused. "And I don't really believe in waiting for rare events like eclipses to kiss a woman I want to kiss."
His words brought more light to her eyes.
"Justin, you're making it hard to say no."
"Then don't say no."
She stared back at him. "I do want to kiss you. I've been thinking about it since this morning, which seems like a very long time ago now."
His gut clenched at her unexpected admission. "Well, stop thinking about it and
take what you want. I'm right here."
"It's risky."
"You're not afraid to take risks, Lizzie. You did it with this inn."
"That's different."
"Is it?"
At his challenging question, she sat up and framed his face with her hands. She took her time, her gaze moving across his face, dropping to his mouth, and damned if his body didn't grow harder with each passing second. She was a spectacularly pretty woman and every nerve on his body was tensing with anticipation. If she wanted to kill him slowly, she could probably do it.
Finally, she moved forward, touching her lips against his. She started out tentative, gentle, and exploring. Then desire took over and they moved into each other's arms, kissing with a hunger that couldn't be denied. The connection between them deepened with each kiss. He felt like he was addicted to her. Every taste made him want more. His heart was pounding, his body humming, and as his hands roamed over her sweet curves, he couldn't even conceive of stopping. He wanted to take her into his room. He wanted to get rid of the clothes between them. He wanted to lose himself in her and for her to lose herself in him.
"Bed," he murmured, as they came up for air. "Yours…mine…doesn't matter." She stared back at him with her beautiful green eyes that were filled with emotion. "Don't say no." The words slipped past his lips before he could stop them. He didn't like sounding so desperate. Even worse, he didn’t like feeling so desperate. But he needed her. And he had to have her.
"There are a thousand reasons why I should say no," she said.
"But at least one good reason why you shouldn't. I want you, Lizzie. And if you want me, too…"
"Then we should go to your room, because it's closer."
A relieved smile lifted the corners of his mouth. "Good choice." He kissed her again and then jumped to his feet, pulling her up along with him. They'd only taken one step away from the couch when a scream lit up the air.
They froze for a split second and then ran toward the door. They heard someone scream again, and they dashed down the stairs. There, on the third-floor hallway, they found Noah passed out on the floor. Patty was on her knees next to him, trying to shake him back to consciousness, and a dark-haired woman wearing a dress and heels, a suitcase on the floor stood next to her.
Can't Fight The Moonlight (Whisper Lake Book 3) Page 15
